Invest NI: Belfast received 11 times more funding than Derry

Andrew Quinn

Belfast, Craigavon, Antrim and Newtownabbey all received more funding from Invest NI than Derry from 2011 to 2014, according to figures obtained by investigative journalism organisation The Detail.

The Detail’s investigation has Derry in 12th in a list of 26 former council areas to receive funding from Invest NI over the three year period.

Businesses in the east of N. Ireland received 81 per cent of funding, compared to 19 per cent in the west.

The figures show that from 2011 to 2014 Invest NI gave Belfast (£128,159,245) more than 11 times more funding than Derry (£11,503,245). Statistically, Derry, has the highest level of unemployment in North.

In terms of per capita, Belfast received £452.59 per head of population whilst Derry received £105.39.

Using per capita, Derry is behind Belfast; Newtownabbey; Antrim; Craigavon; Cookstown; Dungannon and South Tyrone; Magherafelt; Ballymena; Larne; Newry and Mourne and Lisburn.

A third of all Invest NI funding for same period went to Queen’s University Belfast (£19m), University of Ulster (£24m) and NI Screen (£64m).

Strabane (£2,307,213) and Limavady (£1,388,826) were 20th and 23rd respecively.